


Rotting Treehouses

by chucknovak



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: AU where IT never existed, High School, M/M, but it's kinda graphic, richie and eddie are both super oblivious as always, richie comforting eddie, the violence is just a broken arm, this is mostly just sweet tho i promise lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 19:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13324845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chucknovak/pseuds/chucknovak
Summary: Nothing brings people together quite like falling out of a tree.





	Rotting Treehouses

    The boys had no idea how Beverly found these places. It was the summer before their senior year and they were still finding little corners of Derry they had never seen before. This day in particular brought them deep into the woods to the base of a tree in which an old, abandoned treehouse sat. “Well, boys?” Bev asked with a devilish grin, “Who’s first?” They all looked around at each other somewhat skeptically until finally Mike stepped forward and started up the moss-encrusted ladder.

    “Last one up’s a virgin!” Richie shouted, lunging for the ladder after him. The other members of the group were quick to follow, knocking into each other as they fought their way up to the rotting platform. As it turned out, Eddie was the last one up and was unsurprised to find a shit eating grin on Richie’s face. “Aw, come on, my pure little Eddie bear, don’t be embarrassed! There’s no shame in waiting!” he teased, pinching his reddened cheeks. The smaller boy swatted his hands away, but Richie just responded by tugging Eddie closer by the hem of his shirt. “I do, however, have a very easy solution if it’s a problem you’re looking to fix,” he said suggestively with a smirk. Eddie hated how his heart leapt at what was obviously a joke.

    “Can you two get a room?” Stan groaned, saving Eddie from his stupor. His skin burned where Richie’s knuckles had grazed it, and he felt momentarily paralyzed by the hooded, bespectacled look he was receiving.

    “Get off me, trashmouth,” Eddie protested, lightly shoving Richie away from him. Richie beamed dopily after him. Eddie pretended not to notice.

    “This view is crazy,” Ben marveled, gazing out over one of the railings. Eddie came and stood beside him, taking in the scenery. The trees _did_ look beautiful, and the view was a welcome distraction from his racing thoughts and heart. He walked around to another railing and leaned over to see how far up they were, but with a resounding crack the ground was rushing up at him. He barely had time to screw his eyes shut.

    “Eddie!” he heard multiple people scream, but it was background noise to the sound of something besides the railing snapping. He howled as an unbearable pain shot through his right arm. He rolled onto his back and heard something fall to the ground with a heavy thud beside him. The first thing that he saw was Richie barely getting up from the ground before scrambling over to him. The next was the rest of the losers rushing down the ladder. And the next was his arm, which was now bent in two places instead of one. He almost passed out at the sight.

    “Holy fucking shit,” Richie whispered.

    “Holy fucking shit!” Eddie echoed in a screech. He felt tears running down his cheeks; but then he felt Richie gently bringing Eddie to rest in his lap, careful not to jostle his hurt arm. Eddie felt the taller boy’s thumb wiping his tears away, he felt his hand cradling his cheek. His gaze was turned from his arm to the worried brown eyes above him.

    “Hey don’t look at that,” Richie said, his voice softer than Eddie had ever heard it before. “Just look right here, look right at me, okay? It’s not even that bad. Ben and Mike are getting an ambulance, the doctors will be here soon, okay? I’m right here.” Eddie was vaguely aware of Beverly, Bill, and Stan gathering around them, but he struggled to pay attention to anything other than the pain. He cried out again and curled instinctively into Richie. “I know, I know,” Richie murmured into Eddie’s hair, rubbing his hand along the smaller boy’s shoulder while using his other hand to keep him steady. “I know how hard it must be knowing that your jacking off hand is gonna have to be in a cast. Lucky you, you’ve got an amazing friend like me who’s willing to help you out with that,” he teased, though his voice remained remarkably caring. Eddie’s face burned at the lewd comment, and for a brief moment his mind strayed from the pain in his arm.

    “Shut the fuck up, Rich,” he replied through his tears, but his lips twitching up at the corners gave him away. He welcomed his friend’s jokes and flirtations as a distraction from the pain.

    “Okay, Eddie, hang in there,” Ben said, joining the circle, “your mom and the paramedics will be here soon.” Eddie’s heart sunk.

    “You called my mom?” he wailed. He was never getting out of that house again after his mom saw him. To be fair, he couldn’t fault Ben, as only Richie, Stan, and Bill knew what Mrs. Kaspbrak was like, but he was still filled with dread. He couldn’t help but look at his arm and imagine his mother’s reaction. His stomach turned and he let a small whimper escape his lips, mourning the month of gatherings he was likely to miss because of this; and that was being optimistic.

    “Hey, hey, what’d I say?” Richie whispered, genuine again. “Keep looking right at me.” Eddie happily obliged; he tried counting the freckles that dotted the bridge of his friend’s nose to distract him from the shit storm that was his life. “Okay, I’m gonna snap your arm back into place,” Richie told him. Eddie’s eyes shot up to Richie’s, widening in panic.

    “Like fuck you are!” he exclaimed.

    “Eds, trust me here-”

    “No! Do not fucking touch me!” he screamed, trying and failing to recoil from Richie’s embrace.

    “Yeah R-Richie, I don’t kn-knu-know if that’s-” Bill tried to interject.

    “Listen Eds,” Richie reasoned, ignoring his friend’s protests, “if your mom sees your arm looking like a branch that’s one breeze away from falling off the tree, she’ll never let you out of the house again.” His voice low and uncharacteristically serious. However, sure enough, a smile immediately crept back onto his face. “And how am I supposed to help you get off if I’m not allowed to see you?” Eddie rolled his eyes, squirming as he debated what Richie had said about his mom. He knew he was right. Fuck, he didn’t want to admit it though.

    “I’m not letting you play doctor on me right now, Richie!” he refuted.

    “That’s not what you were saying last night,” Richie countered with a wink, holding Eddie closer. The injured boy was about to respond with exasperated sass, but another jolt of pain shot through his arm. His scream bounced off the trees and hung in the air around them. There was a chorus of resounding gasps and winces from the circle of friends around them. “There we go!” Richie said excitedly. “Nice and back in one piece! Well, sort of, at least.” Eddie looked down to see his arm swollen and bruised but no longer bent at its previous horrific angle. The process hurt almost more than the fall, but his pain level after the fact was no worse than it had been before Richie snapped it back into place. “I think I make a pretty _good_ doctor, as a matter of fact. You sure you don’t want my services?” he teased. Eddie gazed up into the eyes behind the thick glass with the knowledge that he definitely would get a lot less shit from his mom now.

    “Thanks, Rich,” he said meekly. Richie’s smirk faltered in surprise for a moment before transforming into a gentle smile.

    “Of course,” he whispered, his eyes trained on Eddie’s. The latter whimpered in pain and Richie carefully pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his temple before shushing him comfortingly. Eddie’s heart was once again in his throat, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t just from the tears. “You did so good,” Richie praised him, quietly and in his ear so that the others couldn’t hear. “I’m sorry if I made it hurt more, but I couldn’t stand to have you locked away for a month. I’d miss you too damn much. But you took it like a fucking champ, baby. And the doctors will have you fixed up before you know it.”

_Baby_.

    That was innocent enough, right? Just Richie being Richie. But it was different this time; he wasn’t teasing, and Eddie acted like he didn’t hear it. Even if he wanted to respond, he couldn’t have, as Mike was gently scooping him up into his arms to carry him to the road. Richie darted up from the ground, not even bothering to brush the leaves and dirt off of his clothes before rushing to Mike’s side, where he stayed until they came upon the road where the paramedics and Mrs. Kaspbrak were waiting. Richie surreptitiously kissed the top of Eddie’s head before they were in view of the street. If Mike noticed, he didn’t say anything. Eddie was blushing all the way to the hospital.

*       *       *

    Mrs. Kaspbrak had made it very clear that none of the losers were allowed to accompany Eddie to the hospital, not-so-subtly blaming them for his injury. So they were all holed up together in Bill’s living room waiting on the news from Eddie. The tension and solemnity had mostly left the room, but Richie was sat on the couch, leaning forward and bouncing his leg uncontrollably as he stared off into space. The panic he’d felt as he watched his best friend, his crush of over five years break through that railing had yet to subside. “Rich, can you please stop that?” Stan asked quietly from beside him. Richie knew he wasn’t being rude or insensitive; Stan just genuinely could not handle Richie’s fidgeting sometimes. But Richie didn’t think he could stop, so he bolted from the couch at that remark and headed for the kitchen.

    “Water,” he mumbled to no one in particular as he made his way out of the room. He thanked the powers of the universe that Bill’s parents were still at work and Georgie was at camp, because as soon as he was alone he leaned onto the counter and tears began to sting at his eyes. That was _Eddie_ , his Eddie, and he was in pain that Richie couldn’t possibly imagine; and Richie couldn’t even make sure he was feeling better, couldn’t even be there to make him smile. God, Eddie hated hospitals. _I should’ve driven him there myself_ , he thought, anxiety and guilt overcoming him.

    A gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump. He whirled around to find Bev looking at him with concern in her eyes. “Oh, hey,” he smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I was just uh, cutting some onions,” he joked lamely. Bev smiled at him sympathetically.

    “He’s gonna be just fine,” she assured him, looking straight past his bullshit. “I know how worried you are about him, but he’s gonna be okay. He’ll be all patched up soon, and after that the worst that’s gonna happen to him is he’ll be grounded for a little while. You’ll see him soon.” Richie nodded and smiled weakly at his friend, falling into her arms.

    “I’m that obvious, huh?” he chuckled.

    “If it makes you feel any better, he’s just as obvious as you are,” she replied as she held him. Richie’s heart seized in his chest and he pulled back to look her in the eye.

    “You really think so?” he asked softly. “Like, genuinely? You’re not bullshitting me?” Bev all but rolled her eyes at him.

    “Listen, I know it’s not my place and you’ve gotta do what you gotta do in your own time, but I think you should consider what happened today as a sign to stop waiting. You guys care about each other so much it’s almost comical, and he could’ve been hurt a lot worse today.” Richie’s blood turned to stone at the prospect of telling Eddie how he felt. Still, he knew Bev had a point; fuck, Richie knew damn well how much worse things could’ve been, his heart had shattered at the sound of Eddie howling in pain. He shuddered to think about what feeling silence would’ve brought.

    “Yeah,” he choked out weakly, nodding his head again.

*       *       *

    Eddie was out of the hospital later that day, but he was on lockdown for at least a week. That, however, had never stopped Richie from climbing through his bedroom window before, and it definitely wasn’t stopping him that night. Eddie had even left the window open, as he was expecting (and hoping) that Richie would come over, and he didn’t want his mom to hear him knocking on the window.

    “You expecting me?” Richie grinned as he shimmied in through the opening and tumbled onto Eddie’s bedroom floor. He displayed a shocking lack of finesse for someone who climbed through that very window on the regular, one that made Eddie grin.

    “It’s summer, Rich,” Eddie retorted, “ever think I’m just hot?”

    “All the time,” the taller boy winked, sitting on the bed next to Eddie, who now _was_ , in fact, very hot from the blush on his cheeks. “Pretty badass cast,” Richie remarked, carefully lifting Eddie’s arm, “can I sign it?” His smile fell, however, when he saw the only word written on it, in big black letters: LOSER. “Who the fuck did this?” he asked, enraged on Eddie’s behalf.

    “Don’t worry about it,” Eddie insisted, embarrassed now for a whole new reason. He had forgotten that was there – he’d been kinda distracted by Richie’s entrance. And by how gently Richie’s fingers were holding his own.

    “A little late for that, Eds. Seriously, how’d this happen?”

    “It was Gretta,” Eddie mumbled, “when I went to pick up my prescriptions.” Richie rolled his eyes.

    “Fuckin’ predictable,” he said. “She could’ve at least gotten creative! But don’t worry, my dear Eddie Spaghetti, Bev and I will kick her ass and make sure that next time she decides to defile your cast she at least puts a little more soul into it.” Eddie gave him an exasperated look, but he kind of loved how protective Richie was being. “Now, let me sign it,” Richie grinned, standing up from the bed. He reached Eddie’s desk in two strides and returned with a red Sharpie.

    “For the love of god, Richie, if you draw a dick on my arm I will kill you,” he pleaded. Richie didn’t say anything in response, just intently focused on Eddie’s cast for all of three seconds.

    “There we go!” he proclaimed, just as he had earlier that day, “Much better!” Eddie looked down to find that Richie had written a “V” over the “S” so that Eddie’s cast now marked him as a lover rather than a loser.

    “If this is some weird way of asking me out maybe _you_ should try a little harder,” Eddie remarked jokingly. But when he looked up into his friend’s eyes they were wide as saucers behind his glasses.

    “Okay,” Richie sputtered, licking his lips. “Eddie Kaspbrak, will you be my boyfriend?” Eddie’s eyes widened and his heart felt like it might leap out of his chest.

    “What?” he breathed, and as he did so a wave of panic washed over Richie’s face.

    “It’s just that, well, today, when you fell, it was kinda like everything stopped, you know?” he began to explain. “I was real fucking worried about you, Eds. So obviously, I jumped out of the tree after you like a fucking idiot,” he grinned feebly. “I don’t know, I just needed to be next to you as soon as possible to make sure that you were okay. I didn’t know if you’d had the wind knocked out of you or had snapped your neck, fuck, Eds, I was so damn scared…” he trailed off, his eyes darting down to his hands, which rested in his lap.

    “Richie, if this is a fucking joke,” Eddie began with a shaking voice. Richie looked up and met his gaze, then took his uninjured hand in his own and brought it to his chest. Eddie could feel Richie’s heart hammering through his thin t-shirt.

    “It made me realize how much you mean to me,” Richie said. Eddie just stared at him, unable to find the words to express the tsunami of emotions he was feeling. “Okay, if you could say something that’d be great, because I’m kind of freaking the fuck out over here, and even a nice clear, ‘Fuck off forever’ would be better-“

    “Richie,” Eddie breathed dreamily before leaning in and cutting off Richie’s worrying by pressing their lips together. Richie let out a tiny, high pitched sound of surprise and pleasure, leaning further in, his hands steadying Eddie and making sure his arm wasn’t being crushed or twisted. “Yes,” Eddie declared when they broke apart. Richie looked at him in confusion, his eyes still a bit starry. The smaller boy grinned and rolled his eyes. “Yes, I will be your boyfriend,” he clarified. Richie beamed immediately.

    “Oh right, that,” he chuckled. “Awesome. That is awesome. That is fucking great news, Eds, that’s-” Richie Tozier was cut off by a kiss for the second time that night. And he really did not mind.


End file.
